The best part about books you love, authors you adore, is sharing them with others. We like to say things like, “Go read Storm Front by Jim Butcher, it’s awesome times a thousand,” and then leave it be. For those of us who collect books like other people collect stamps, we do not share the actual books except to a few select people. We’ve been burned before. We loaned our Douglas Adams collection to our best friend and never saw it again. Because their kids ate half the pages.
However, some people have passed our test. They borrowed our precious books and not only returned them, they kept the binding pretty and even shared some of their own collection in return. These are people we keep with us always. Which is why, even though I had barely spoken to him since we broke up, I loaned two books to my ex-boyfriend and didn’t bat an eye.
Yes, you read that right. I contacted my ex to see if he’d read the most recent two offerings in Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden series. When I found out that he had NOT, I was horrified and immediately offered to loan him both books at once. Maybe we couldn’t hack it as a couple, but man are we sympatico as readers. He needed those books. I needed to share them.
Who have you shared with today?
Gigi Salem 
Angela Wallace said
Wow, I’m impressed. I’m glad it wasn’t the type of break-up that left you two hating each other. Very few friends in my immediate life read, or read a different genre than I do, so I don’t share very often. My mom and I share books sometimes. 😀
Gigi Salem said
Oh, I hated him for a while. It was just… he was my friend first and I want to get back to that, you know? Offering the books was my proverbial olive branch.
Jillian Dodd - Glitter, Bliss and Perfect Chaos said
My mom and I share books a lot. She always gives them back to me in perfect condition. However, I think if a book is good, it shouldn’t come back in perfect condition. Some of my favorite books in my library are from my grandpa’s study. They are well worn and well loved.
Gigi Salem said
That wearing should take a while, for me. Years, in fact.
David N. Walker said
Never could see why people should become enemies just because they aren’t the right love partners for each other.
Gigi Salem said
Well not everyone is as evolved as you, Mr. Wiseacre.
Daniel said
I never loan any book to anyone. Living in the truck, I have limited storage space so there are few books I keep. The few I’ll keep, I’ll buy a second copy to give to someone that will appreciate it. Any other books are given to whomever I feel will enjoy them. If a book returns to me, I continue passing it on til it leaves me. I won’t borrow a book, since I rarely know how long I’ll be gone and font wish to deprive the owner of the pleasure of their books.
Gigi Salem said
This makes sense, given your life on the road.
susielindau said
It’s great that you continue to have a relationship. Most of the time it is too awkward!
Gigi Salem said
This is sort of the first foray into rebuilding our friendship. Took a long time (and the magic of Jim Butcher) to get to this point.
Catherine said
I honestly can’t think of anyone I’ve lent a book to recently apart from my mother. Folks in my immediate circle read, but are generally too far away for me to lend out my books. I’ve had books lent to me, and I always return them in the same condition in which they came to me.
Having said that, I encourage family to borrow my books. I could furnish a branch of the public library here! Alas, only my mother reads much…
Gigi Salem said
My mom and I trade books constantly. She is, in fact, responsible for me falling in love with books in the first place.
Tiffany A White said
I share books with my mom all the time – she loves my addiction to hardbacks. I also share my DVD and TV boxed sets with my friends…they laugh a lot when they realize the discs are still wrapped in plastic.
I heard about a website where you swap books with strangers, but I haven’t checked it out yet. You?
Gigi Salem said
Strangers? EEEEEEEeeeeeee **runs screaming from the room to hide under bed**
*ahem* no, I have not heard of this site…
Amanda Rudd said
I share books with my brother, mother, and two best friends. Although, now that both best friends live so far away, what I tend to do instead of lending them my books is go to used bookstores to buy them copies of books I *need* them to read and just mail them those.
My friend Nathan can thank me for a good third of his collection now. ^_^
On another note, I just now finally started reading Storm Front. I know I’m late to the game! But I’ll catch up! I promise. (I miss tv-version Bob though).
Gigi Salem said
I predict that you will come to love book-Bob far more than you ever loved that trumped-up facsimile! Of course, I despised TV-Bob. Bob, the real Bob, was never human, and… well, I’ll stop my fangirl rant right there. You can imagine where it leads.
Nigel Blackwell said
I give most of the books I read away. I used to travel a lot. I’d forget my book as I got off the plane. Apart from the fact that I’ve half-read no end of books, I felt like a traveling library where no-one brought anything back.
Cheers!
Gigi Salem said
Good googly-moogly, that would freak me out! Different strokes, though, eh?